This invention relates generally to fasteners and more particularly to fasteners that include means for filling workpiece holes.
Fasteners such as nails and staples are widely used for joining materials together. In many applications, such as furniture making, cabinet making and finish work (i.e., the installation of wood trim, baseboard, molding and the like), it is common to drive the fastener below the surface level of the workpiece. The resulting hole is then covered with a filler material that conceals the presence of the fastener.
Because skilled labor is typically used to perform this type of work, it is desirable to be as productive as possible. Accordingly, the use of powered nail and staple guns has grown significantly. These devices allow workers to drive fasteners more quickly and with less physical effort when compared to manually driving fasteners with a hammer. Nail and staple guns also typically allow the user to control the depth that the fasteners are driven. However, the subsequent resurfacing work is still time consuming and therefore very expensive. Typically, after a number of fasteners have been driven, a worker returns to fill the fasteners holes with a filler material such as wood putty. Traditional application requires a worker to putty each individual fastener hole and then wait for the putty to dry. The workpiece surface is then sanded to provide an unblemished appearance. Additional applications are often needed.
Accordingly, there is a need for a fastener that reduces that amount of time required for resurfacing work.